Posted on 09/05/2007 11:46:34 AM PDT by goldstategop
Here's a fun exercise for conservatives: Spend some time just listening to your liberal friends. Don't bother to say anything at all. You'll be amazed. I've certainly been wowed every time I've tried it.
Libs believe the darndest things. They're not as cute as the things kids come out with, but having millions of adults who are stuck in false beliefs puts our society at a lot greater risk.
Among the pearls of political wisdom I picked up from ordinary, friendly, prosperous and apparently intelligent lib friends were the following:
1. Christians. Believing Christians are scary folks, sort of proto-fascists, who would kill or convert us all to their strange and scary beliefs if they had the chance.
I find this staggeringly ignorant. It implies, among other things, that nothing worthwhile was accomplished in Western Civilization before, let's say, the Sixties. (Well, whatever, dude... )
2. Jews. Peaceful Orthodox Jews are just as bad as head-chopping Islamic fascists. Because they're all fundamentalists! (No kidding.)
3. Capitalism. Corporations are evil. Capitalism murders just as many people as Stalin and Pol Pot did. Every political system kills millions of people. (The mind reels.)
4. Tolerance. You can't trust other ethnic groups, and even your own. One liberal friend can't stand Russians, Turks, and Poles. Another is deeply suspicious of Southerners and Midwesterners, considering them guilty until proven innocent. Another is suspicious of Blacks; however, a Black liberal I know thinks that Whites are "ice people." A very radical friend thinks that hippies are fascists. (Honest). This is just a sampling of liberal tolerance and openmindedness.
5. America. Americans are contemptible. Europeans are wonderful. (Facts are irrelevant).
6. Genocide. The US murdered just as many Native Americans as the Nazis killed Jews. Oh, and the Spanish Inquisition killed 9 million women. (Both bizarre, historically; no respectable historian agrees, but it's in the minds of your neighbors. They are still allowed to vote.)
7. Mind-reading. Liberals can read the minds of conservatives, without, of course, bothering to read anything conservatives have written, or even talking to them. Many libs are firmly convinced (without a shred of evidence, of course), that conservatives hate Blacks, Jews, Gays, and Women.
It does not seem to occur to my friends that it's difficult to read other people's minds; or that conservatives might actually be far more tolerant than liberal race demagogues, judging by their own words.
8. Israel. Israel is a pretty bad and nasty place. This is from a very liberal friend with many Jewish friends.
9. Militarism. Israelis are "militaristic," according to a very liberal Jewish professor. This is the first time I realized that defending your country against murderous assaults on innocent civilians is "militaristic." I thought militarism was the Prussians in World War One shouting "Hoch! Hoch!" while the Kaiser's troops went goose-stepping by with pointy-headed helmets and fixed bayonets. No such thing. Militarism = self-defense. Amazing.
10. Population. The world has far too many people, and (hint, hint) it would be a lot better if a lot of them died or were never born.
11. News vs. propaganda. Any news source other than the mainstream media is right-wing propaganda. Indeed, anything suggesting that liberals are less than 100 percent right is right-wing propaganda. This comes from a friend who engages in constant self-censorship, who becomes visibly agitated when his beliefs are gently questioned.
12. Dictators. Stalin was not so bad. Yes, he killed millions in the Gulag, but so did the United States. As for Castro, he is a great and wonderful hero. So is Hugo Chavez. However, Augusto Pinochet was a bad, bad guy. (Bizarre beyond belief.)
13. Republicans. Assassinating Republicans is a pretty good idea, as long as somebody else does it. (From a prominent liberal community leader.)
14. The Supremes. Justice Clarence Thomas is a dunce.
15. War. War would go away if just Republicans stopped stirring it up.
16. Criticism. Thinking negative thoughts about people is the source of violence in the world.
17. Relativism. Reality is only a social agreement. There's no such thing.
18. GlobWarm. Human-caused global warming is probably a lie, but it's a useful lie. (I swear).
Had enough? This is just a start. I don't want to spoil it for you. Every conservative might consider just quietly listening to our liberal pals, without trying to change their minds. You'll be amazed and enlightened. But be ready to bite your tongue.
We have a lot of truth-telling to do, to put straight what is snarled and upside-down in the minds of 'way too many Americans. But don't argue with liberals, at least not the ones I know; it never works. Their minds are made up and locked tight.
Discussion only works with open minds.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
bump
15 minutes at a liberal blog, or listening to a liberal radio station can actually be quite educational (or amusing) for those with the stomach to tolerate it.
Give the DemocracyNow! radio show a shot (its on Pacifica Radio). Amy Goodman is a certifiable communist gasbag. Democraticunderground.com, iblamethepatriarchy.com, dailykos.com, etc., etc.
I actually read this stuff quite a bit - partiuclary feminist and left-wing blogs. Feminists are hilarious.
H
“But don’t argue with liberals, at least not the ones I know; it never works. Their minds are made up and locked tight. “
My brother the Democrat teaches me all I need to know about the left. He could be the prototype for this story. His “facts” are whatever is fed to him by the MSM. He clings to what they tell him, and he becomes extremely agitated when his “facts” are challenged. He doesn’t believe every bit of what is in this article, (he’s Catholic), but I’d put him at 80%. One thing to realize about libs, if they are like my brother, they take it as a personal insult if you don’t follow their beliefs.
For those of you who don’t subject yourself to Ms. Goodman’s “reporting” on DemocracyNow!... here’s a synopsis of her show since its inception:
- every person ever given the death penalty was wrongly convicted,
- every atrocity ever committed in the world can be traced directly back to the United States and Israeli governments,
- every brutal regime in the world is “conservative” or “right-wing” and was forced into power by the U.S. ... usually by voter fraud,
- No communist or left-wing regime has EVER been put into office by vote fraud ... they’re all popular dictators brought on by a grassroots movement,
- No Democrat has ever actually lost an election ... Republicans just rigged the voting,
- the U.S. military is a terrorist organization,
- George W. Bush, Henry Kissinger, Bill Clinton, and the corpse of Ronald Reagan should be imprisoned in the Hague until they are literally fully decayed,
- every nation not fully committed to socialist health care is committing genocide,
- whatever the disaster, the poor (esp. women and minorities) are the hardest hit ... because of the United States government,
- no corporation (generally considered organized criminals) has ever done anything good ... ever,
- no communist or socialist nation has ever committed an atrocity (especially since all atrocities originate in the U.S.).
- capitalism is an atrocity,
- generally speaking, Amy Goodman has never met a terrorist, terrorist organization, criminal, “detainee”, or cop killer that she didn’t immediately feel sympathy for (this, of course, is excluding the Israeli goverment, corporations, American government and Republicans generally - which she would define as a murdering, terrorist organizations, specializing in genocide and organized crime).
- no police officer or member of the U.S. Military is EVER justified in the use of force (deadly or otherwise)...
- all protests are “peaceful”, and no police agency is ever justified in arresting a protester,
- however, such arrests are a badge of honor for these “peaceful protesters”,
- anything beyond interviewing a terrorist over a cup of tea, and housing him in a Holiday Inn, is “torture”;
- Guantanimo Bay might as well be Auschwitz;
- Abu Ghraib is the greatest atrocity that mankind has ever witnessed;
- it simply isn’t possible that Osama bin Laden could attack this country, and any accusation that bin Laden started the “War on Terror” is a scurrilous lie;
- 9-11 was perpetrated by the “Project for the New American Century” (Dick Cheney ... aaaahhhh!!!), as justification for the invasion of Iraq;
- the Pentagon was hit with a missile fired by Dick Cheney, not a plane;
- the only time bin Laden can be acknowledged as an actual terrorist is when it is noted that (1) the U.S. created him, and (2) George W. Bush hasn’t captured him yet;
- Dick Cheney is the antichrist, and Karl Rove, George W. Bush, Alberto Gonzalez, Donald Rumsfeld, etc., are demons at his disposal;
- if Europe and the United States ever disagree ... Europe is always right, courageous, and brilliant;
- if Europe and the United States are ever in agreement ... Europe is simply a U.S. pawn, a stupid lap-dog, or has been forced into submission by the neo-cons;
- All weather disasters are the result of Global Warming and Western arrogance;
- Christianity is an evil religion;
- Christianity can only be good to the extent that it disagrees with American foreign policy, the death penalty, or espouses environmentalism;
- Islam is a religion of peace, and anyone thinking Islam has taken a wrong turn somewhere is a bigot;
- Eastern religion, medicine or philosophy is ALWAYS superior to their Western counterparts;
- Jimmy Carter, Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama, Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez are never wrong ...
... if you disagree with any of this ... you are a neo-con, right-wing, racist, misogynist, genocidal, elitist, snobbish, stupid, capitalist, fascist, American idiot.
H
"Do not give what is Holy to dogs. And cast not pearls before swine lest they trample them under their feet and turn on you and tear you to pieces"
They think the government media complex is a movie theater on a military base.
They think conservative candidates are spewing hate filled rhetoric, per e-mail I got in response to their poll that I did just for fun:
“While Democrats are offering hope for the future, Texas Republicans proved at their flop of a Straw Poll last weekend that they are only interested in catering to a narrow group of extreme partisans. With the absence of nearly every presidential candidate, a limited group of hard-core partisan Republican activists selected a third-string candidate who offers nothing but an extreme platform and hateful rhetoric. You can read more here.”
They are ruining the country!
Hippies are smelly fascists (brown shirts that weren't originally brown).
liberalism equals>
Cognitive dissonance
Cognitive dissonance is a psychological term describing the uncomfortable tension that may result from having two conflicting thoughts at the same time, or from engaging in behavior that conflicts with one’s beliefs, or from experiencing apparently conflicting phenomena.
In simple terms, it can be the filtering of information that conflicts with what you already believe, in an effort to ignore that information and reinforce your beliefs. In detailed terms, it is the perception of incompatibility between two cognitions, where “cognition” is defined as any element of knowledge, including attitude, emotion, belief, or behavior. The theory of cognitive dissonance states that contradicting cognitions serve as a driving force that compels the mind to acquire or invent new thoughts or beliefs, or to modify existing beliefs, so as to reduce the amount of dissonance (conflict) between cognitions. Experiments have attempted to quantify this hypothetical drive. Some of these have examined how beliefs often change to match behavior when beliefs and behavior are in conflict.
Here’s another:
AlGore was elected president by the majority of the electorate. He was robbed. So were we.
But this time we’re running Hillary.
“1. Christians. Believing Christians are scary folks, sort of proto-fascists, who would kill or convert us all to their strange and scary beliefs if they had the chance.”
On a blog discussing relocating to specific areas of the U.S., one guy said he’d like to move to Tennessee for a lot of reasons, but was afraid to “because it might be too religious — too many Christians and things”. (Several people told him there’s a reason the area is referred to as the “Bible Belt”.)
Is that psychobabble for schizophrenia?
“no communist or socialist nation has ever committed an atrocity (especially since all atrocities originate in the U.S.).”
Does Amy Goodman believe the same thing about Stalin that is mentioned in the article above?
The horrendous Goodman belongs in Cuba or Venezuela and make it soon! She is not an American anymore, if she ever was.
>> The horrendous Goodman belongs in Cuba or Venezuela and make it soon! She is not an American anymore, if she ever was.
What is the difference between Amy Goodman and the Hindenberg?
One is a flaming fascist gasbag, and the other was a zeppelin.
I take great pride in knowing that the Presidential vote of this humble Texan will cancel out the vote of that communist windbag.
H
I don’t have Lib friends.
LOL! I do find this funny, since my favorite liberal friend is not quite like this. I should send this to him so he can laugh too.
Its difficult to tell, but probably. True leftist tyrants rarely get mentioned on DemocracyNow ... but she certainly hasn’t said anything bad about Stalin that I’ve heard. George W. Bush, on the other hand ...
H
OK, I have to join the fun:
1. 9/11 was a vast right wing conspiracy (our government flew airplanes into those buildings)
2. The government blew up the levies flooding the 9th ward.
3. Christians are narrow-minded and bigots.
4. We (libs) are tolerant of all peoples, races, and creeds.(think George Wallace here)
4. If you are conservative you are a xenophobe, homophobe, and anti-immigration.
and finally......
5. Haliburton, Haliburton, Haliburton.
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